Kyle Field's renovations to include biggest screen

A $450 million renovation of Kyle Field is underway. The stadium will seat 102,500 when done.

Photo By Brent Zwerneman/San Antonio Express-News

The red brick as part of the new $450 million renovation of Kyle Field is rising skyward on the stadium's northeast end. Most of Texas A&M's campus features beige or tan buildings, but Kyle Field's prevalent red will resemble that of A&M's 2-year-old baseball stadium, Blue Bell Park.

Photo By Brent Zwerneman/San Antonio Express-News

Photos of the renovation work at Kyle Field, Feb. 18, 2014.

Photo By Brent Zwerneman / San Antonio Ex

Kyle Field renovations as of Feb. 18, 2014.

Photo By Brent Zwerneman/San Antonio Express-News

Photos of the renovation work at Kyle Field, Feb. 18, 2014.

Photo By Smiley N. Pool /Houston Chronicle

Photo By TAMU/Handout

Here is a rendering of Kyle Field after it is renovated. The new and improved stadium is slated to seat 102,500, and Texas A&M officials are hoping it will be completed by August 2015.

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Texas A&M officials ceremoniously break ground on the renovation of Kyle Field on Nov. 9, 2013. Moments after the Aggies' 51-41 victory over Mississippi State, the renovation began.

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An Aggie Yell Leader leads a cheer on the field at Kyle Field, which will be the largest in the SEC and third-largest nationally after its renovation.

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Fans watch and take photos as the Aggie Corps marches on the field during halftime of a Nov. 9, 2013 game.

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The east stands at Kyle Field are packed with fans as A&M faces Sam Houston State on Nov. 17, 2012.

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Aggies fans in the upper deck watch the first half of the A&M Maroon & White spring game at Kyle Field on April 13, 2013.

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Aggies fans in the stands during the first quarter of a Sept. 14, 2013 game.

Photo By Karen Warren/Houston Chronicle

The sun sets behind Kyle Field before the start of a game on Sept. 21, 2013.

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A&M Corps of Cadets march around the track before the start of a game on Sept. 21, 2013.

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The A&M band plays before the start of a game on Sept. 21, 2013

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Officials meet at midfield before the 2013 season opener against Rice.

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Johnny Manziel throws before a Sept. 7, 2013 game.

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The Aggies warmup before a game on Nov. 9, 2013.

Photo By Dave Einsel/Associated Press

The Texas A&M marching band spells out SEC during halftime of a Sept. 8, 2012 game.

COLLEGE STATION — Texas A&M is aiming for two primary goals upon completion of its $450 million makeover of Kyle Field: Largest and loudest.

The Aggies already had announced the stadium's planned capacity of 102,500, making it the largest in Texas and the Southeastern Conference. On Tuesday, A&M chancellor John Sharp also declared a new video board, at 47 feet by 163 feet, will be the largest in college athletics, and nearly twice the size of the old one.

“It's another intimidating feature of the redevelopment of Kyle Field,” Sharp said during a stadium construction update.

Opponents have long considered the 12th Man — A&M's student body that stands the entire game and yells in unison — as Kyle's most intimidating feature. But Craig Kaufman, senior associate with architectural firm Populous, said two new canopies on the stadium's east and west sides will amplify that intimidation.

“These canopies will not only offer shade to patrons, but also reflect the crowd noise back down into the stands and onto the field,” Kaufman said. “That will have a great impact.”

Kaufman added that the Seattle Seahawks' home venue, CenturyLink Field, offers a similar setup with canopies, and its fans were recently recorded as the loudest ever for crowd noise.

“And I know for sure (Aggies) are as loud as they are,” Kaufman said.

The Kyle redo, which began in earnest Nov. 9 following A&M's final 2013 home game, is “on schedule,” said Greg McClure, project director for Manhattan-Vaughn Construction. Capacity will be 106,511 for 2014 (prior to the addition of suites on the west side) before dropping down to the final number of 102,500 in '15. Red brick, the prominent feature of Kyle's new façade, has begun rising on the northeast corner of the stadium.

Sharp also added a couple of nuggets that will make plenty of Aggies grin: The new Kyle will have twice as many women's restrooms, he said, and cellphone service should be much improved starting this season. Despite the construction, A&M intends to play all of its home games at Kyle this coming season, and McClure vows the project will be done in time for the 2015 season. Sharp said he believes him.

“The lights are on all night long — it's going on 24 hours a day,” Sharp said of Manhattan-Vaughn's urgency regarding what's been dubbed the most extensive college football stadium redevelopment in history.

Sharp added that 12 seats on the second deck at the 50-yard line will be barricaded and always remain empty to honor the 12 Aggies who died in the Aggie Bonfire collapse in November 1999.

Tragedy, too, struck the Kyle project in early December when worker Angel Garcia, 28, of Lindamood Demolition fell four stories to his death.